Mail-bag fastening.



PATBNTBD SEPT. 26,1905. G.B.STEVBNS.

MAIL BAG PASTENING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7. 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT onirica.

CHARLES B. STEVENS, OF OUMBERLAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHNv B. BEOKETT, OF OUMBERLAND, OHIO.

MAIL-BAG FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 2e, 1905.

Application led Tilly '7, 1905. Serial No. 268,603.

To all whom, t may concern:

-berland, in the `county of Guernsey and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Fastenings, of which the following is a specication.-

The object of the present invention is to provide a strong, simple, and durable means of closing and locking mail-bags, the fastening being 'flexible and permitting the bag to be folded in any desired way.

Theinvention willbe described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in whichl Figure 1 is a side elevation of the open end of a mail-bag, partly broken away to show the fastening device. Fig. Q is a plan view of the bag closed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bag with the fastening device withdrawn. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5'5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the body of the sack, which may be of canvas, leather, or other suitable material. Extending transversely of the bag, on the inside thereof .and near its upper end 2, are a series of short tubular guidesv 3, having slots 4 on their inner sides and connected at their outer sides with the bag. nected by means of rivets 5, whichpass through the bag and through leather strips 6 and plates 7. .The guides 3 may be of any lsuitable cross-section and of any desired number. They are preferably short, in order that the bag may be iexible laterally. The platesl 7 on the outside are preferably of the same length as the tube-sections on the inside, and the guides on one side are preferably opposite the guides on the other. i t

The locking device consists of a strap 8, having ribs or ianges 9 at its edges, which ribs or flanges are adapted to interlock with the tubular guides, as shown in Fig. 4. The strap and ribs are constructed of leather or other suitable iieXible material which will permit the bag to be folded transversely when locked. To facilitate the closing of the bag, cords 10 are connected to one end of the strap 8 in line with the ribs 9, and these cords are preferably provided with buttons or knobs 11 to prevent them from being drawn entirely through and out of the guides 3. In some AS shown, they are coninstances the buttons may be dispensed with and the cords connected together or made in one continuous loop.- The cords 10may be of leather and may be simply extensions of the ribs 9, or` they may be of any other suitable material. rlhe locking-strap passes through slots 12 13 at opposite sides of the bag. At one end it is provided with a ring 14 or other suitable handle for opening the bag, and

at the other end of the strap proper is a plate 15, having a hole or opening 16, through which a padlock or other suitable locking device may pass to lock the' bag when closed. The cords 10 extend beyond the locking-plate 15, and they are of length equal to the width of the bag.

The operation of my invention is as follows: It will be understood that the strap 8 is permanently connected to the bag-that is, it is `prevented from being withdrawn in one direction by the ring or handle 14 and in the other direction by the knobs 11. When it is desired to lock the bag, the strap 8 is pulled into the guide-tubes 3 by means of the cords 10, and a lock is then engaged with the opening 16. The position of the strap 8 when the bag is locked is shown in Fig. 2. When it is desired to open the bag, the strapis pulled in the other direction by means of the handle 14 until: the strap is entirely disengaged from the guides, in which case the cords 10 are fully drawn into the guides. The bag may then be opened wide. In either its open or closed condition the head of the bag is entirely flexible, and it may be folded in any desired way.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLettersPatent, 1si 1. The combination with a mail-bag of two series of slotted tubes arranged respectively on opposite inner walls of the bag and a strap having marginal flanges, said flanges being adaptedto'interlock with said oppositely-arranged tubes, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a mail-bag. of two oppositely-arranged series of tubular guides connected tothe inner walls of the bag, said guides. having slots in their inner faces, a strap arranged to run in said slots and having flanges on opposite edges adapted to engage said guides, and cords constituting continuations of said flanges for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a mail-bag, of

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slotted tubular guides arranged Within the mouth of the bag on opposite sides thereof` plates u pon the outer sifles of the bag and corresponding in location to the tubular guides, fastening devices Connecting said guides to said plates, and a strap for locking the bag, said strap Comprising a flat middle portion and marginal flanges, a ring or handle at one end, and cords at the opposite end, for the` purpose Set forth. lo

' 1n testimon)T whereof Ial'lix nrvsignature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES l. STEVENS. lllitiiesses:

JAMES A. WATSON, B. C. RUST. 

